Jack vs. Tiger: Who's the Greatest Golfer?

[fender4645]

Tiger...definitely Tiger.

[running-8-iron]

Tiger by far.

It's obviously hard to compare the different eras because of the differences in equipment, nutrition, sport conditioning, rehabilitation, the number of competitors, the quality of the competition, the courses etc etc etc...but irrespective of that, Tiger is probably the better athlete and probably the better golfer.

I compare questions like this to 'who is the faster sprinter, Carl Lewis or Usain Bolt?' (being Canadian, I was going to use Ben Johnson in my question but it probably would have got me alot of abuse ) Carl Lewis' best was probably 9.86s in the 100m, while Usain Bolt's is likely 9.69s. Again, irrespective of eras, Bolt is faster.

[msberry]

Tiger will have a legacy that will never be topped

[drocpdp]

I grew up watching Jack when I wasn't interested in golf that much.

I watched Tiger when I started getting into golf (or maybe Tiger started getting me into golf).

Tiger displays the mental tenacity and toughness that is so unique (thanks, in part, to marketing). I'd have to say Tiger appeals to a broader crowd and does show the true grit.

jack is great though.

[golfbhoy]

Gonna have to go with Tiger on this one folks.

A legend in our lifetime

[ricod00]

Jack is unbelievable. But the competition that Tiger goes up against week in and week out makes him the greatest.

[colin007]

i swing from tiger's nuts...so therefore, it is tiger.

[bag_of_ants]

I'm only born in '87 so obviously it is a bit hard for me to compare the two; but comparing what I've seen of the two of them, I'm going to go with Tiger.

I go with Tiger because of his mental attitude, as well as his commitment to change his swing during his career just to be even better.

[Travtex]

Got to jump on board with Tiger... Though I'm a newcomer, so that's the one I know at least a small something about.

It's a bit moot, though. I'm a lefty fanboy.

[Sandplay]

Tiger has my vote he just always seems to hit the right shot when it is needed. He still has alot of years ahead of him to.

[JSwiney10]

Anyone give Hunter Mahan a thought? He has really got his loose ends tied this year.

[Acropo]

Anyone give Hunter Mahan a thought? He has really got his loose ends tied this year.

Not in a discussion about the all-time greatest, no!

[k5thbeatle]

Tiger is great but I voted for Jack. It's often said when comparing todays athletes with those of the past that todays athletes are in better shape/condition, which is true. However, I believe what makes any athlete great is that they did whatever it took for them to be great in their era. Hence if Jack was a young man today he would do what it takes, including being in better shape, to be great in today's era.

[hammock3]

jack easily.

[threedolphins]

call me crazy, but jack is more fun to watch.

[Prairie Golfer]

Allan Robertson

When he died in 1859 they had to hold a golf tournament the next year to see who would replace him as the "champion golfer." That tournament is known today as The Open Championship.

[Gordo]

I am old enough to have followed both of these players in tournaments. I say the answer would become clear if we had Tiger play his rounds with a 43" Persimmon Driver with a steel shaft that weighed 150 grams and a Balata ball. Personally, I have never heard anything like the sound of Jack hitting a Balata ball 300 yds. (As Jack himself has said, the biggest advantage of today's play - tee to green- is the golf ball.)

The courses that Jack played on were not the manicured pieces of perfection that the tour gets to play on, today, either. They were lucky if the greens were as good as today's fairways! In his hayday, if you couldn't drive it in the fairway, you couldn't consistently win.

So every opinion is very hypothetical because of the changes. What I will say is that Jack respected the game more. You never heard him swear, or slam a club - he'd turn bright-pink after a bad shot and just groan "Ooooh, Jack!" You'd never have seen him let the gallery roll a boulder "loose impediment" out of his line, either. Jack played the game as it was meant to be played... only better than anyone else.

That is what makes me say that Jack was the greatest. That does not mean that I think of Tiger as any less of a phenomenon than what he is, however.

[Acropo]

Respect for that, Gordo. On the button.